Author: Belinda Reeve
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Upcoming events: Engaging with Advocates
On Friday the 28th of July, Sydney Health Law is hosting Engaging with Advocates, along with the Food Governance Node and the Healthy Food Systems Node at the Charles Perkins Centre. This event aims to connect early career researchers with leading civil society advocates in order to foster collaboration and increase the impact of research. Representatives…
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Promoting health goals in a self-regulating industry
Earlier this year I published an article on self-regulation of food marketing to children in Australia. I focused on two voluntary codes developed by the Australian food industry to respond to concerns about children’s exposure to junk food advertising, and how it might affect their eating habits. My article pointed out the many loopholes in…
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#FitSpo? No thanks.
Now that we’re in May, it’s likely that everyone’s New Year’s resolutions to eat better and drink less have fallen by the wayside. And as we move into winter (in the Southern hemisphere at least), it’s getting harder to convince yourself to get out from under the blankets and go for an early morning run. It’s…
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Self-regulation of junk food advertising to kids doesn’t work. Here’s why.
Recently, Cancer Council NSW published a study finding that food industry self-regulation in Australia has not been effective in reducing children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing. Australian children still see, on average, three advertisements for unhealthy foods and beverages during each hour of prime time television they watch. This figure remains unchanged despite the Australian…
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Sydney Health Law’s Food Governance Conference
In the first week of November, Sydney Health Law will be hosting the Food Governance Conference. The conference is a collaborative endeavor between Sydney Law School and the Charles Perkins Centre, the University of Sydney’s dedicated institute for easing the global burden of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The conference also has sponsorship from…
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Named reporting of HIV: A positive step for public health?
In Australia, doctors must notify public health authorities of new cases of HIV/AIDs. However, strict confidentiality requirements apply to the testing, treating and notification of HIV, protecting the identity of patients. As part of its review of the New South Wales Public Health Act 2010, the Department of Health is considering whether to remove these…
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How should we talk about weight?
In a lot of ways, I’m reluctant to publish this blog post. It’s not a topic I’m an expert on, and academics are generally cautious about writing on something they haven’t researched, due to the fear of being shredded by someone with a PhD and 20 years’ experience in the field. I’m also worried…
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My brain made me do it: will neuroscience change the way we punish criminals?
Allan McCay and Jeanette Kennett Australian law may be on the cusp of a brain-based revolution that will reshape the way we deal with criminals. Some researchers, such as neuroscientist David Eagleman, have argued that neuroscience should radically change our practices of punishment. According to Eagleman, the courts should give up on the notion of…
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Upcoming Conferences: Governing Food
Governing Food: The Role of Law, Regulation and Policy in Meeting 21st Century Challenges to the Food Supply Dates: Tuesday 1st November – Thursday 3rd November 2016 Venue: Sydney Law School Sydney Health Law is hosting the Governing Food Conference in November this year, in conjunction with the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre and with sponsorship…
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Could a sugary drinks tax improve Australian diets?
The UK tax on soft drink and Jamie Oliver’s call to action Today Britain announced that from 2017 it would levy a tax on soft drinks containing more than five grams of sugar per 100 millilitres, as part of efforts to contain rising levels of childhood obesity. The announcement prompted Jamie Oliver to post a video…
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Locked out by the Nanny State? The public health case for Sydney’s lockout laws
This blog post incorporates a post previously published by Caterina Giorgi on DrinkTank. We’re grateful to Caterina for giving us permission to republish her post. Sydney’s lockout laws have had a polarizing effect. One view is that they’ve killed off Sydney’s once-thriving nightlife, compromised the incomes of those in the hospitality industry, and simply redistributed…
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NBOT Annual Workshop – Call for Papers
Date: 10 March 2016 Venue: Sydney Law School, University of Sydney In March, the Network for Bodies, Organs and Tissues (NBOT) will host its annual multi-disciplinary workshop on bodies and tissues. The event provides a forum for discussions of moral, ethical and regulatory issues relating to the access and control of tissue. The Network welcomes papers that…
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Santa: jolly gift giver, or creeping trespasser?
In honour of the silly season, I’m taking a break from health law to venture into torts, another area that I teach into. This post is dedicated to all the hard-working students in my torts tutorial groups, and to anyone who’s ever wondered…. Can we sue Santa? Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year.…
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The role of law in noncommunicable disease prevention: an easy-to-digest explanation
Public health lawyers like me are often challenged on their claim that the law can (and should) play a significant role in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Future Leaders, an Australian philanthropic organisation, has recently published an open-access, clearly written book on NCD prevention called Dancing in the Rain: Living with NCDs, which includes a chapter…
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The ACT sin bins junk food ads on buses
The ACT attracted media attention this week for becoming the first Australian jurisdiction to regulate ride-sharing services like Uber. But the ACT’s also been active in an area that’s close to the heart of many public health advocates: regulation of junk food and alcohol advertising. Promotions for these products will be banned on ACTION buses, along…
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Our new Nanny State? The Senate inquiry into tobacco, alcohol, and bicycle helmet laws
Earlier this month, Senator David Leyonhjelm announced aSsenate inquiry into legislative and policy measures introduced to restrict personal choice “for the individual’s own good,” including laws related to tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, bicycle helmets, and film classification. Leaving to one side the irony of a government inquiry into government’s unreasonable interference in our lives, many…
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Patching up America’s broken heart: Could regulatory theory offer a solution to gun violence in the US?
On Wednesday morning, the US suffered another gun-related tragedy. This time, reporter Alison Parker and camera man Adam Ward from WDBJ-TV, Virginia, were shot dead on air by a disgruntled former colleague. Alison Parker’s father has said that he will not rest until the US introduces stronger gun control laws, and he challenged the media…
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Local government action: a new pathway for obesity prevention in Australia
Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Stephen Simpson (Director of the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney) and Rosemary Calder (health policy Director at the Mitchell Institute for Health and Education Policy at Victoria University), call for community-based action to prevent chronic disease. They point to communities like Broken Hill, which has high…
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